Raising up in a blaze of glory.

Morvil Advertising + Design Group, where I was Associate Creative Director, was approached by our client to create something new, fresh, attention getting and unprecedented. Sometimes you should be careful what you ask for. I skate, so I felt like I had a pretty good read for what would resound in the skate community.

But to complicate things, most of the purchasing power for the client's products came not from the skaters, but from their parents. So how do we hook the skaters and get the payout from their parents?

The answer came in an uproar.

I concepted a series (more than the three you see here) of bogus ads which play to every young skaters desires. All to be done over-the-top with a made-for-Hollywood script. Yet tame enough for church and palatable to the parents. I crafted the props, cast the talent, Art Directed the photoshoots, coordinated with Thrasher Magazine and other magazines and produced the ads.

Our client was a local business with a relatively small budget and we worked our rear-ends off to contain costs. He had a lot on the line, so it was with great anticipation that we waited for the ads to run to gauge the response.

[Cue the sound of a car peeling-out.]

When the first ad hit - there was a spike in his site activity. All dutifully managed by our client and his stressed-out CSR's. And by the third ad, momentum had built to a level that the client pulled the plug on the remaining series.

The non-bogus ads shown here represent good, solid ads for what they are. And I think they were more suited to his comfort zone. But I'm thankful for these projects and the trust 360Skate.com placed in us to do something so initially bold.

360skate.com

360skate.com


Project(s):

Brand Relevance
Print Advertising
Web Advertising
Promotions

Objectives:

To position 360Skate.com as a premiere supplier of skateboarding gear and accessories. To generate a buzz and notoriety around the brand that would resound with skaters in their channels as well as with parents for fulfillment channels, as they are a key purchasing demographic.

Of Note:

The ads ran in Thrasher Magazine and other major national skateboarding publications. The ads generated a great deal of buzz ranging from high-praise to extreme curiosity. The ads gave our client the visibility they were seeking in this very crowded space.

"You're a dumba** for even thinking it was real."

-givehugsnotdrugs
[commenting on the GlowStyxx ad]

"Did u guys see the tankwheel things for wheels?"

-emerican_mystery
[on popular skate forum]

"Haha that's great. Its made from a chicken feeder."

-kevo
[commenting on the Gyro Pak ad]